Excellence Riviera Cancun - Adults Only All Inclusive

This was our first visit to any Excellence Resort. Our group of nine was aged between 21 and 76 years old. We have experienced Secrets, Riu, Now/Dreams and Sandals. Excellence Riviera Cancun was an incredible experience. Every employee was genuinely friendly, kind and helpful. Our room was clean and restocked every day. The resort grounds were spotless with employees constantly cleaning and pruning-the property was beautiful. Excellence is now our go-to resort for all future trips.

If you are considering a trip to Cancun to an adults only, all inclusive resort, this is the best. Whether you are looking for quiet and relaxing time at the pool, or an active pool with a sim up bar, you’ll find it here. We have traveled here multiple times, and never want to leave. Great food, service, facilities, and entertainment. The staff are truly what makes this property special. They make you feel like family. We love Excellence Riviera Cancun!!

We had a truly wonderful stay at Excellence Riviera Cancun, and it will forever hold a special place in our family story. We were there to celebrate our daughter's wedding, and from the moment we arrived, the staff made sure we all felt seen, celebrated, and completely cared for. That kind of attention isn’t scripted. It’s felt. We signed up for the VIP experience, and honestly, it was absolutely worth the expense! The food across the resort was consistently excellent. Spice, in particular, stood out for flavors and presentation. The only small note, and it truly is a small one, was the tuna filet. It was beautifully prepared, but a quick clarifying question about preferred temperature when ordering would have made it perfect. Everything else we enjoyed ranged from very good to memorable, from Magna, to Agave, to the Taco Food Truck - all excellent! Our room was DIVINE! We chose the suite with a rooftop deck and pool and we were not disappointed! Beautifully appointed, with more than we could ever use for a five day stay. The bed was so amazing that I slept in till almost 10 am everyday. No stress, no noise, no interruption to my sleep. We were in the 9 building, on the 3rd floor. Pool service was seamless and attentive without being intrusive. Drinks appeared just when you realized you wanted one, towels were always where they should be, and the overall rhythm of the pools felt relaxed and joyful. Room service was reliable and well-presented, and the Excellence Club experience elevated everything. The added attention, quiet luxury, and thoughtful details made a real difference. We used the laundry service, which we don't usually do. The price was reasonable, and our clothes were returned within a few hours. The pools themselves were gorgeous and varied enough that every day felt different. And the silent disco? Pure delight. Watching generations dance together under the stars with headphones on is a memory we’ll be smiling about for years. A special thank-you to Emiliano, who embodied everything this resort does right. Warm, professional, attentive, and genuinely kind. He made our experience smoother, brighter, and more personal, and that matters. Excellence Riviera Cancun isn’t just a beautiful resort with great food and amenities. It’s a place where people take care of people. Our newlyweds were celebrated, our family felt relaxed and welcomed, and we left feeling grateful. That’s the kind of excellence that lingers long after the tan fades.

We wanted a quick relaxing get an away. Everything was perfect. We had plenty to do good food and entertainment. The beach was lovely

We recently went to the ECR. The resort itself is beautiful and clean. The staff keeps everything impeccable. Food is Meh! Chez Issabelle has the best French onion soup. Wait time once in and ordered doesn't make sense. Apps are rushed out, but main entrees take forever. If you are a person who stays at the pool all day, you are in luck. If you are going to the ocean, don't. This is not the resort's fault, as they can't control the ocean, and they do have a lovely beach, but the water is always churned up and mucky, and the seaweed is horrible. Excellence should install the nets like the other resorts down the beach. The week was enjoyable, but we wouldn't go back . This is our second Exellence and we found EPC much better.

We just returned from excellence Riviera Cancun, and really enjoyed our stay. The excellence club beach was a great spot and Edson, who was serving us. Drinks was amazing. The beach is nice and they try to clean up the seaweed, but if you were looking for crystal clear Caribbean water, it was not necessarily there, but we did go snorkeling a few minutes away, and that was a great experience. We booked through aqua world. We loved most of the restaurants, including spice and magna for the excellence club. The best drinks are definitely at the excellence club lounge. Their quality drinks are way above the rest. The only complaints I have were as I experienced in past trips the lobster house and oregano are always so so. But overall, our room was very nice and the staff were all excellent. Our only major complaint was the sliding screen door to our room was very difficult to open and at one point the screw attaching it to the frame actually fell off. They did have maintenance there very quickly to fix it, but that did not make the door easier to slide in and out and I think that is just a result of it being older and that door probably needs a replacement. We were in building seven and had a swim up pool suite and the pool right outside. Our rooms pool was definitely the warmest being heated while the main pool and other pools were colder. But overall, we had a great experience.

Here I am again, writing about an amazing vacation at Excellence Riviera Cancun. Once again, I won’t be adding dozens of food pictures – I’ll reference them but…suffice it to say, you won’t starve. As usual, a very special thank you to Amy at Beach Bum Vacations for turning us on to this resort 15 years ago… and for always helping us get a great deal. If you’re considering this, please reach out to her! OK, buckle up, grab your favorite beverage with a little umbrella, and here we gooooooooooooooooo. WOW! Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than smart. We left Chicago on a “black Friday” early morning and was very happy to get to Cancun to feel the sunshine. Fun fact: Chicago had a snowstorm on that Saturday – about a foot of snow! I almost (note: almost) felt bad watching my neighbor snow blow my driveway while I was at the pool. 😊 Not Resort related, but we flew American Airlines and landed at gate 27. Where is that? Well… not “in” the terminal. We had to deplane and bus to the terminal – however, the bus DID drop us off next to the customs line, so there was that! We then had a private shuttle from Seasons to the resort. As usual, they were right there to help us and get us to our “home away from home”. As we arrived onsite, we saw once again those magnificent doors. Gustavo was there to greet us and recognized us from June. He took our luggage and got us situated in the Excellence Lounge. We were handed off to Jose and he got us situated. Since we arrived early, our room was not ready, so we went to the Lobster House for a quick bite, then over to the Martini bar where David found us to welcome us back and brought us our room key. Jose then welcomed us back again and helped escort us to the room and welcomed us back. The recognition of us as ‘returners’… well, THAT’S what ERC is all about. For the lunch at Lobster house, Geronimo was our server, and the Avocado/mint soup was amazing (more later), and the fish tacos were spot on! Some general observations and thoughts…. Breakfast is always a treat at The Kitchen Table. Mateo is a magician with his omelets or breakfast tacos. And the variety available is still fabulous. We usually stopped at Aroma in the morning – and Fernanda remembered us from prior years (see the earlier review with the not-flat-Staley) … She’s always in a good mood and starts our day off with a smile. ERC may not have replaced the floats at the EC Pool, and only put covers on, but it is a nice upgrade! There were plenty available, and the new covers gave them all a new life. The EC Pool Concierge team of Joel, Mario, and Raul – what an upgrade from our last visit. They were there every day, welcoming me (I’m an early bird) and they’d always set us up with the umbrella, towels, etc. At the pool, Mariana and Yessnia were always there with offering a beverage or grabbing us lunch (pizza, nachos, anything from Las Olas)… and how can we not mention Amable – she is still smiling and grinning – and of course, “The Man, The Myth, The Legend”- Moises. He remembered us and his infectious laugh brightens any day! … Drink? Drink? Drink? On the topic of the pool, Michelle and Diana brought the blackjack to the Club pool and gosh, was that fun. A great midday break. But watch out… ‘Dirty Diana’ always seems to win! 😊 There was only one show we knew was a “must do”. Claudia Trevino on Monday nights. Always spectacular, always entertaining, always a highlight. Frankly, the other nights we’d head up to the Magna bar after dinner for a beverage – or 2 – or 3…. We had dinner at Magna (3 times), The Grill, Chez (2 times), Spice, Flavor Market, and the Lobster House. One night, Hector saw us and remembered us with wonderful hugs – funny enough we were on our way to Flavor Market where he was working that night. PERFECTO! We went and asked for him. Then we also asked him where he’d be the next night! Yeah, that’s where we went! 😊 Flavor market was its usual deliciousness, and his recommendations were spot on. The next night at The Grill – was the only “meh” meal of the week. Kay was the hostess at Spice and elsewhere – adorable, friendly and called us by name… we had the Maki rolls and some Sashimi, along with a special and some rice. All good, all enjoyable. At Chez, Juan greeted us the manager recognized us and welcomed us back. We were pleased to have Luis and Wilson as our server team. They were as wonderful as the food. Luis and my wife had a long discussion about the previous mushroom crepes (the current one, while good, wasn’t the same) – and he went and spoke to the Chef. Guess what… when we returned 2 days later, Chef Mauricio came out from the back with a version of the prior and OMG! PHENOMINAL! Talk about customer service!!! The onion soup is still a marquis item, my wife had the seafood special, and I had the filet. It was really good! At Magna, what a delight to see Jennifer (whom we met last summer) was now in a leadership role and stopped to talk to us several times. She’s amazing! Christian was the host, and he let us sit where we’d be with Juan De los Dias. I’m not going to say its special with him, but… my wife literally cried the last night saying goodbye to him. He’s so good! We had the shrimp special, salmon, lamb chops… The cauliflower soup is as good as ever! While at Magna, Yovanny the magical bartender walked out (we met him last year) – saw us, and stopped at our table with handshakes and hugs! And then Jose (also a prior server) came by and stopped to chat with us, again with hugs. It is this personal touch that makes us keep coming back! I cannot talk about ERC without mentioning the leadership at the resort. David Sarmiento – stopped by almost daily to check on us, we had great conversations with him. And of course, Leylan Villanueva is a rockstar! She’s always there, working to make sure we are treated like family. Meh. The menu – almost all the cream soups are gone, very few remain but those that exist are good. The avocado/mint soup – while good on day one, was inconsistent. Future bowls were much thicker and grainier. Not bad enough to send back, just not consistent. Also, it seems there are the same salads/deserts at several restaurants. It used to be nice where each place had completely unique menus. I realize there can be some waste associated with that…but… still, lets go back to that please. Our dinner at The Grill came out cooked, but not hot. I wonder if the timing from plate to table needs to be worked on. The Guest Experience – in general it feels like there is a desire for “same same” across the brand and shortcuts/costs are being cut in places. Perhaps I’m a bit picky, but the petit fours were not consistently delivered. They used to be a daily item, and in most cases are… but not for us. Of the 9 nights, I think we received them 5 times. Again, I certainly didn’t starve that week, but it was a nice touch. As a 9th time repeat guest, we didn’t even get the welcome swan/towel animal. Actually, not once did we get one. I realize this is about the laundry, use of towels, etc.… but that was the “extra” that ERC used to do. Even to the point of bath towels in the room… in years past we’d get a second “mat towel” for next to the bed, but not anymore. We also used to get fresh flowers. That seems to have also gone by the wayside. What happened to the live music at Las Olas? Bad enough that the menu has been stricken and limited – and there is no variety each day anymore. But that used to be nice, to have some live music while we were there. First world problem: the EC concierge team (who knew we’d been there 9 times and have 2 future week-long reservations) didn’t bring us a “goodbye” sand art – even after 9 days (and tipping daily). Not the end of the world, but not what we’ve had in the past. OK, the Wi-Fi could be a bit stronger, but…. I certainly was ok living without it 😊 For a touch of Nostalgia: Remember Bulgari shampoo/conditioner? This new stuff is meh. I will keep saying…. Please bring back the ceramic mariachis in the room! Please bring back playing “evening” by Ester Garcia in the rooms at turndown. That was always a nice way to end the day. Some of these things do start to make me wonder, will ERC become ‘just another resort’? The Stinky. This is all related to the guests, not the resort, so take it for what it is – and is just my 2 cents. I wish there was still a bit more of a dress code at dinner for indoor restaurants. It was something that elevated ERC. Personally, I wear a suit every day and certainly do enjoy wearing shorts/flip flops but… for a week, c’mon, dress up a bit. (I actually wore shorts/flips to and from Cancun. It was chilly when we got home – below freezing – but I was still glowing from ERC). We all still see people thinking all-you-can-drink means drink-all-you-can. Oh, this will start a discourse, but tipping. I saw people at several restaurants not leave anything. Even at the kitchen table buffet, most people left a dollar or two… but again, not all. IMHO, if you can afford to go to ERC, you can spring for the few bucks after your meal. Final thoughts. This was our 9th visit to ERC, and once again we have two return trips booked already. Even with the bumps in the road, the staff makes it what it is. The service was and still is amazing and brings us back ‘home” time after time. Leaving is always the worst. My wife tears up as we pack and perform the ‘walk of severe disappointment’ as we get the heave-ho. This time, a full-temper tantrum “I DON’T WANNA GO” as we were walking to our ride to the airport. Again, bottom line, if you are on the fence about this resort, just do it! We love it and will continue to return.

Disappointed with room location for diamond club members. mentioned it twice to concierge with no affect. We were located facing the intersection in building 9 (great view of the little convenience store) heard air brakes every morning from buses slowing down to take the corner. On the website you get to select your room but we find that this is never the room you get. Overall it was an excellent stay, just a few things I would change.

Just returned from a 6-night stay at Excellence Riviera Cancun (ERC) from December 10th and December 16th. We paid $2,882 (booked in March 2025) and did not pay for Excellence Club. We were told that the resort was at 85% capacity. For additional context: we're a couple in our late 30s, and we'd previously stayed at Excellence Playa Mujeres (EPM) in 2015 and 2016. TL;DR: Excellent overall trip with great food, drinks, staff, grounds, beach, and pools—but the rooms/AC issues are the clear weak point. If room quality matters a lot to you, this could be a dealbreaker; if you mostly care about dining, drinks, pools, and service, ERC feels well-run and provides a pleasant and enjoyable stay—just not as good as Excellence Playa Mujeres was a decade ago. ROOM This was one of the more disappointing aspects of our stay, but since we didn't spend too much time there, it didn't end up being a huge downer on the trip. We stayed in a Junior Suite Pool View room (6129). It had, unfortunately, one of the worst views of the entire resort, facing out southeast with a direct view of the Unidad Habitacional apartment complex. As other recent guests have pointed out, the rooms at ERC are indeed showing signs of age/use, which makes sense given that the hotel is now more than 20 years old (built in 2004)--lamp shades crooked, plug outlets loose, the light above the ceiling fan closest to the balcony didn't work, etc. The king bed was comfortable, though perhaps a little soft. The smell of the cleaning product(s) used by the housekeeping staff was noticeable and a little annoying until we became "noseblind" to it. The biggest issue with the room was that the air conditioning was not able to keep up with the humidity. By itself, the A/C keeps the room at 69°F, but it was not effectively/actually *conditioning* the air. It was humid and musty and sticky feeling. Judging by recent YouTube reviews and Tripadvisor reviews, this is a common issue and not a "one-off". Upon the advice of previous travelers (thank you!), I went to the concierge and asked for a dehumidifier, which, to their credit, they delivered and set up in our room within an hour. I did, however, have to empty the dehumidifier's water tank 4 times every day due to the humidity--the room's humidity level was never lower than 65% even with the dehumidifier. This is, at a 5-star resort where you're paying more than $400 per night, not something that should be happening, and absolutely needs to be addressed. FOOD The food was consistently anywhere from "fine" to "excellent". It was, however, definitely not *as* good as we remembered from our stays at EPM in 2015 and 2016, and the portions were noticeably smaller. We were absolutely never close to being hungry though, and the smaller portion issue is easily dealt with by just ordering more things to start. The wait times were longer for food than ten years ago, but we never had to wait to be seated. They are doing a special food night on Wednesdays at Agave (the Mexican restaurant), where the executive chef of Beloved orchestrates a special menu to show off the unique dishes of the Mayan Riviera, and that was great. The teppanyaki experience at Spice (the "Asian" restaurant) was both excellent and entertaining, and actually ended up featuring so much food (and protein, holy cow!) that I left a bunch on my plate--note that this is the only restaurant you need to book in advance. Loved the filet mignon, foie gras, escargot, duck, and 12-layer chocolate cake at Chez Isabelle (the French restaurant). Basmati was one of our favs at EPM but was lower-tier--and oddly small in terms of available tables--this time. Our mains were great, the chicken tikka masala and chicken korma, but the desserts were disappointing. At EPM in '15 and '16, the samosas blew my mind, but this year at ERC, the vegetable samosa was just "good" and the chicken samosa was downright odd (hard fried shell, broke it open and there were bland and dry tiny bits of chicken pieces inside). Lunch at Lobster House and Los Olas was great every time. The wood-oven pizzas you can get at Bar Sol from 11-3:45ish were good but not "WOW" like they were 10 years ago. A food truck is open for the odd dead-space time in the late afternoon when all the lunch places have closed but before dinner places open, and it was solid! For breakfast, Lobster House has a great view atop the "party" pool, but the food options and speed of doing the breakfast buffet yourself at The Kitchen Table made that our breakfast destination every day. I routinely made myself crepes with Nutella and banana that were delicious. DRINKS Uniformly great. Blended/shaken well and didn't skimp on ingredients or alcohol. They had Appleton Estate Signature rum and Beefeater gin everywhere, which are both solid for mixing, so I was good! The best unique cocktails they make, IMHO, are the Playa Blanca and the Hemingway Mojito. The non-alcoholic smoothies you can get at Revive were great. The iced coffee at Aroma was delicious, though on the sweeter side, so adjust pumps accordingly if you don't like it too sweet. GROUNDS Yes, the rooms are showing age and need work, but the grounds of ERC are looking great! They are well-maintained and upkept constantly. We saw workers doing everything from mowing to trimming trees and bushes, to chopping down coconuts high up on ladders, to repainting, to replacing light fixtures in the pools and ponds, you name it. Big kudos to the maintenance and grounds staff! BEACH You're not going to get turquoise blue-green Turks & Caicos-level water here in this area of Cancun, but it was nice. The sand was powdery and perfect with no shells or rocks at all. The sargassum was taken care of, and there was no nasty smell at all. We walked the beach every morning, and it was delightful. POOLS We loved the lazy river that swung alongside the Miile spa and camped out there every day. Never had a problem getting a palapa. People did appear to be doing the dumb "chair game" for the direct-sun chairs by the "party" pool close to the swim-up bar (Blue). Pool temps in the unheated (non-Excellence Club) pools were perfect--probably 79F I'd guess...enough to refresh you without being "cold". ENTERTAINMENT We went to the shows every night, and they were entertaining and fun. Pure Energy was a blast. Also loved the Claudia Trevino trio they had on Monday--she has a legit good voice, and their covers were excellent (took requests too!). STAFF Consistently warm, attentive, and excellent. Airport transfer was smooth and stress-free as well (we booked with the resort directly, and all Excellence properties in Mexico use Season Transfers tours.)

Upgraded room for a jucuzzi tub- din't work. Sent a crew to our room 3 times- two differnet days- WHILE we were trying to get ready - after being instructed not too becuase of the first missed dinner reservation. - phone didn't work - when they finally fixed phone- after the 4th guy came- room service refused to pick up the phone at any int of the day- had to order room serivce from the front desk everytime we wanted something.